Troubadour
by rebelqueen1872
Summary: No matter what happens, you never lose that passion for music. You just lose the will to play stadiums when it's all smoke tricks and lighting anymore. Rusty, AKA Edward Cullen, just happened to hit that wall. At a small bar in Texas, he meets a Miss Bella Swan. Fights, love, passion and country music.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_When you hear twin fiddles and a steel guitar, You're listening to the sound of the American heart._  
><em>And Opry music on a Saturday night brings a smile to your face and a tear to your eye. <em>  
><em>Sing a song about the heartland, The only place I feel at home. Sing about the way a good man works until the daylight's gone. <em>  
><em>Sing the rain on the roof on a summer night where they still know wrong from right. <em>  
><em>Sing a song about the heartland. Sing a song about my life. <em>  
><em>Sing about the way a good man works until the daylight's gone. <em>  
><em>Sing the rain on the roof on a summer night where they still know wrong from right.<em>  
><em> Sing a song about the heartland. Sing a song about my life. <em>  
><em>There's a place where mornings are an endless blue and you feel mother nature walk along with you, <em>  
><em>where simple people living side by side still wave to their neighbor when they're driving by. <em>  
><em>Sing about the way a good man works until the daylight's gone. <em>  
><em>Sing the rain on the roof on a summer night where they still know wrong from right. <em>  
><em>Sing a song about the heartland. Sing a song about my life.<em>

Looking out into the crowd of thousands of screaming fans has never been as tiring as it was right now. I can't see a damn thing through all the smoke and the lights. Ugh. Why does Tanya always insist on this shit? Oh well. I guess that's one of the downsides of being a musician. Yup, you heard me right. To my family and closest friends, I'm simply Edward Cullen. But to the thousands of fans and everyone else on the planet, my name is Rusty. Number one selling platinum country artist in the nation for the last decade, and member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Leaving that stadium was probably my second favorite part of the night at the moment. Walking off the bus to play one of the biggest crowds of the year was amazing, but having to deal with all the smoke during the show was horrible. I feel like I might lose a lung because of it.

Collapsing on the couch in my tour bus, I pull out my phone and start texting Jasper.

**Hey, you wanna start working out the kinks of that new song? - E**

_**Yeah, sure. Be there in 10. -J**_

Tossing my phone on the cushion next to me, I pull out my old acoustic and start pickin' idly.

_Knock, knock._

"Come on in." I say without looking up. "Holy Hell, I forgot how good fresh air felt." Emmett comes in and flops down beside me. Ain't gonna lie, he's one of the best drummers I've ever known. But I'm biased since he's family. Emmett McCarty: drummer, cousin, best friend on the planet. "I know the feeling, I might lose my lungs on stage or go blind before the end of the show."

Jasper comes strolling in carrying his guitar and tries to gracefully sit on the couch opposite us. Unfortunately, he's about as graceful as a newborn baby. "Oof! Damn it. Shouldn't even try anymore." He pulls himself up and grimaces.

"Oh you'll be fine, pretty boy. You ready to roll?" I say as I start plucking out the tune. Jasper nods and Emmett smiles. It's been a long time coming since I've written a decent song that wasn't shoved down my throat by a certain Tanya Denali and her little boyfriend roadie.

Jasper starts strumming along with me and Emmett grabs his sticks from one of the side tables.

_Somebody better call the law We done took it outside  
><em>_We're about to brawl Ol' boy done put his hands on a woman  
>Where I come from, son, the next thing comin' is an ass whoopin' in the parking lot<br>Gonna drop this fool right in front of the cops Be proud of what I done I ain't gonna run.  
>Just read me my rights Put me in cuffs Take me downtown Barney lock me up I'll do my time and raise my right hand<br>I'll tell the judge, I'd do that shit again. I heard it through the grapevine Good daddy and a husband doin' time  
>Said his wife and his kids were in the house Ol' boy broke in man it all went south<br>When he dropped the hammer on his forty five Now he's in the pen twenty five to life  
>Lord knows if it'd have been me I'd have to say Read me my rights put me in cuffs<br>Take me downtown Barney lock me up I'll do my time and raise my right hand  
>I'll tell the judge I'd do it again. If I have to put the law in my hands it's about to break<br>Cause I know right from wrong and if you cross that line Boy all I gotta say is  
>Read me my rights put me in cuffs Take me downtown Barney lock me up<br>I'll do my time raise my right hand I'll tell the judge I'll do that shit again._

Grinning like a fool, somebody starts clapping and scares the Hell out of us. "Sounds like a new number one, boys!" In comes my favorite girls, my baby sister Alice and soon to be cousin Rosalie. "What're you trouble makers up to?" Smirking as they sit next to their men, Rose answers, "Exactly what you think we're up to. We're gonna kidnap you and send you back to your Momma since you haven't been to visit lately."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

I think I just died and went to Heaven. All I can do is stare at them with my mouth hanging open on the floor. Looking back and forth between everybody, all I can see is them grinning like the fools they are.

"Sweet baby Jesus, I think I'm in love!" I jump up and grab the both up in a bear hug, damn near squeezing the life out of them. Spinning around with them giggling and the boys chuckling at my reaction.

"This is the best news I've had in years. When do we head out?" Alice slips out of my hold and sits back on Jasper's lap. "In about twenty minutes actually. We're sneaking you out before Tanya gets done with her newest prey. You better get to packing." I'm booking it down the hall into my room on the bus and packing a suitcase before she's even done talking.

-Later that night-

"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again..."

"Emmett, get it together, stop humming that same line over and over again. Learn the whole song already." I say as he just grins and keeps humming. Ugh, sometimes I wonder how we're related. I couldn't really be mad at him about it though, I haven't seen my Momma in almost two years now. Sure we video chat and talk all the time but that ain't the same as actually being able to hug her and enjoy a good home cooked meal. Why the hell is this drive taking so long? It doesn't take that long to drive a couple hours to Texas. See, according to Alice and Rose's plans of liberating me for a while, we had to take two separate vehicles and we weren't allowed to stop for the night no matter how exhausted we all were. Oh well. Anything it takes to get back home to Jasper. No, not that idiot sittin' shotgun. Jasper, Texas. Home sweet home. One of those blink and you miss it kind of towns, but I love it none the less.

-The next day-

Pulling up to my Momma's house, everybody jumps out and starts racing towards the door. "MOMMA! WE'RE HOOOOOOOME!" Alice and I scream as loud as we can. That's one of the great things about our family farm, its 82acres with stables, a huge hay barn, arenas, pasture for the cattle and horses, and a trail around the property for when we wanna go off roading or have ourselves a bonfire.

Esme Cullen, best damn Momma in the world, comes walking out to the porch with her arms wide open and we almost knocked her over with the force of our hugging. Man, I missed her.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, where the Hell have you been?! You smell like the worse kind of smoke and like somebody lit a cow fart on fire. Go have a shower before you kill one of us with that stink." She giggled like a school girl as she pushed me towards the stairs leading up to my old bedroom. "Everything's where it should be, I just did a fresh load of laundry."

Once I'm all clean and shiny as a new penny, I slide down the rail downstairs then head into the dining room where the most delicious smell hits me. Steak and potatoes. Mmmm, mmm, mmm. Quickly filling my plate and cup, I grab a seat next to Emmett and start scarfing my food down.

"You gotta breathe when you eat, son. I know how much you love your Momma's cookin' but breathe." Ladies and gents, that would be my pop, Carlisle Cullen. Owner and chief operator of Cullen Cattle Co.

"Sorry, Pop. I can't focus when there's steak involved. How you been?" I say before going back to eating this plate of Heaven. I can hear him laughing before he throws a napkin at me and points at my face. "So far, so good. At least I can make it in my mouth when I chow down."

"Whatcha say to goin' out to the dance hall later on? Been a while since we've all been out and had a good time without Tanya the Terrible on our asses." Tanya the Terrible? Hmm. Jasper has too much free time sometimes and likes to give everyone nicknames. Haven't heard that one before though. Everyone's nodding so I guess I can survive a night of dancing.


End file.
